Detailed item info | Movie description | With THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, director Peter Jackson has achieved a meticulous and captivating adaptation of the first book of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic fantasy trilogy. The setting is Middle-earth, a mythological land populated by elves, dwarves, humans, and the gentle, diminutive hobbits upon whom the story centers. One hobbit, Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), unexpectedly comes into possession of an ancient magical ring so powerful it invariably corrupts anyone who wears it. In order to prevent the ring's erstwhile owner, the dark lord Sauron, from reclaiming the ring and taking over Middle-earth, a motley band of comrades set out to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom, where it was forged. Included in the group are Frodo and hobbits Sam (Sean Astin), Merry (Dominic Monoghan), and Pippin (Billy Boyd); the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen); human warriors Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) and Boromir (Sean Bean); the dwarf Gimli (John Rhys-Davies); the elf Legolas (Orlando Bloom). Along the way, they wage battle with monsters, demons, and Sauron's evil minions, all brought to life by spectacular digital technology.
Jackson's grandiose production represents the first of three films that he wrote and directed, derived from Tolkien's beloved novels. Fourteen months in the making, at a cost of $270 million, all three installments were filmed at once in New Zealand where diverse landscapes lend themselves particularly well to the mystical realm of Middle-earth. The trilogy also includes THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS and THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING.
| | Credits | | Producer: | Barrie M. Osborne, Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson, Tim Sanders | | Cast: | Billy Boyd, Christopher Lee, Dominic Monaghan, Ian Holm, Marton Csokas, Orlando Bloom, Viggo Mortensen |
| | Details | | Sound: | Stereo Sound, |
| | Notes | Theatrical Release Date: December 19, 2001
Other elves include Arwen (Liv Tyler), Galadriel (Cate Blanchett), and Eldrond (Hugo Weaving), but they are not part of the core band of nine who set out to destroy the ring at Mount Doom.
| | Editorial reviews | "...The playful spookiness of Mr. Jackson's direction provides a lively, light touch..."
New York Times - p.E1 - Elvis Mitchell (12/19/2001)
"...A faithful and visually spectacular adaptation of the first volume in Tolkien's trilogy....RINGS has moment of edge-of-the-seat excitement..."
USA Today - p.8E - Claudia Puig (12/21/2001)
"...FELLOWSHIP is the real deal, a movie epic that pops your eyes out, piles on thrills and fun, and yet stays intimately attuned to character..."
Rolling Stone - p.55-6 - Peter Travers (01/17/2002)
"...[The film] looks to please the book's legions of fans with its imaginatively scrupulous rendering of the tome's characters and worlds on the screen....McKellen delivers Gandalf with great relish and gusto..."
Variety - p.31-6 - Todd McCarthy (12/10/2001)
"...Jackson has captured something of the depth, breadth, and melancholy grandeur of Tolkien's vision. And that is magic, indeed..."
Box Office - p.59 - L.J. Strom (02/01/2002)
"...Jackson has translated the best-loved fantasy novel of our age into a commanding screen adventure, one with a sense of human terror and danger and grit under its nails..."
Sight and Sound - p.49-52 - Andrew O'Hehir (02/01/2002)
"...Well-made and well-cast....Masterfully paced and one of those rewarding movies that seems to get better as it progresses..."
Hollywood Reporter - p.8-82 - David Hunter (12/04/2001)
| | Awards | 2001 Academy Awards, Best Cinematography: Andrew Lesnie
2001 Academy Awards, Best Original Score: Howard Shore
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